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A/N: Thanks so much to all that reviewed. Keep them coming! I read them all.
Severus loped back to his chambers. He had to contact Erasmus before Draco endangered them all. Erasmus never gave him the chance to bond with his son, no, that would be too easy. Erasmus simply succeeded in creating a wildling, a Master wildling at that. If his son wasn't controlled soon, the anger would leach out in his thirst, and many innocent lives would be at stake.
Once Severus reached his rooms, he ran inside and quickly grabbed an anthame from a nearby table. He ran to the fireplace and looked deeply into the flames. He muttered the familiar words into the fire and sliced into the flesh of his hand with the blade. Once the blood sizzled on the fire, Erasmus appeared quietly behind Severus.
Severus' ears pricked, sensing his master. He slowly turned to face the one that had caused this mess.
"My dear boy, what made you summon me so….enthusiastically?" Erasmus asked with a crude smile playing on his lips.
"You need to fix this mess you've caused. My son, your chosen, is letting the hunger grow."
Erasmus seemed to flip-flop between expressions of amusement and worry. "Explain further, Severus."
"Draco has become what I never wanted to see. You made him wild. If we all end up in Azkaban, it will surely be your fault. Draco has no idea how to stave the power that you have given him."
"Surely, you are exaggerating. I merely turned the boy because you didn't seem able."
"Alas, once again you think, but you do not understand. That boy has never felt the concern of a parent. The Boy, that you decided to bestow your power upon, is at the moment on the verge of attacking someone on these grounds. If he attacks, he will surely kill. And that, dear sir, will be the end of us. And at the very least, it will be the beginning of the largest vampire hunt Britain has ever known."
Erasmus seemed to think for a moment, and then smiled at his adopted child. "Ahhh, as usual Severus, you fret too much." Erasmus vanished with a wave of his hand.
Severus sorely hoped that Erasmus would manage to calm Draco long enough to feed. At this point, that was the most important step. Later, there would be time to work on mending everything that has been lost.
Harry sat in his bed in Gryffindor tower silently brooding. He had let Hermione ask so many questions that his head spun, but only after 45 minutes, Hermione became frustrated as Harry knew so few of the answers to her questions. How was he supposed to know why Bulgarian vampires only had one nostril? Hermione had finally blown a gasket when he suggested that she ask Viktor Krum, since he would undoubtedly know.
The pressure of everything was beginning to weigh heavily in Harry's mind. It wasn't that he was not incensed that Snape had given him this unwanted existence, he simply was biding his time. The only consolation was that Voldemort would have a bit more trouble killing him. The Avada Kedavra simply did not work on vampires. So Voldemort would have to figure out something else.
He wouldn't have even known about the lack of effect from a killing curse if it hadn't been for Hermione's unending questions.
Right now, the only reason he wasn't showing his anger was simply that he knew that Snape had the ability to make him do anything he wanted. Snape, in fact, had the ability to control Harry, and Harry only had a slight understanding of it. There was a connection of sorts since Snape had been the one to "bring him over." He could feel Snape in his mind constantly now, and Harry could sense that if Snape wanted to, he could exert any amount of control over him, but surprisingly, so far Snape had not used this power. And for a brief moment, when Snape acted like he was actually concerned about him, Harry felt as if maybe he would finally have a family. But then, Draco entered the mix, and he found out that Snape had simply helped him because he was a student. Draco was his real son, and even if Draco didn't believe it, Harry would always be second best compared to Draco.
It was this that made him put on the mask. As long as he wore the mask, he was safe. As soon as it slipped, Harry would suffer the consequences, and after having seen Snape and Erasmus fight, Harry did not want any form of punishment from Snape if he could keep from it.
The only positive thing about Harry having become a vampire is that Voldemort seemed to not be able to send him dreams. Ever since he changed, Harry had slept well.
Harry stretched out in his bed, thanking Merlin that the bed had curtains and he would always have this dark cocoon for privacy.
Draco shifted his position at the base of the tree. Although he had been in the Forbidden Forest for over an hour, to Draco, it felt like years. Each passing moment was an expression of agony. The pain seemed to burn from inside each vein, trying to force him to kill something to feed the monster. Draco had no intention of feeding the monster. For all he cared, he could starve to death. Perhaps, if he was lucky, no one would find him until he had become a pile of bones.
Before Draco could breathe he felt the grasp of a cold hand on his shoulder. At once, Draco knew that Erasmus had come.
"Child, do not tell me that you are sniveling. Do not tell me that you are a weakling."
Draco fought the feeling of hopelessness pass through his body. Erasmus would have to remind him of Lucius Malfoy at that moment. He was never good enough for his real father, he certainly wasn't good enough for Lucius Malfoy, and now, even Erasmus was disappointed. He slowly looked into Erasmus' eyes, trying to fight back the tears that threatened to spring forth.
"No, I am not a weakling." He said with determination.
Erasmus smiled. "Now, you do not plan on killing half the population of this school, do you?"
"Not that it hasn't crossed my mind. But no, I have no plans of that."
The old vampire smiled. "Good. Now, you must listen, and listen carefully. You must feed. Not because you want to, but because if you do not, the so-called monster as you have chosen to call it, will most certainly make you feed. Think of it as an extra entity sharing your body. If you wish to destroy that body, your other self will unconsciously save it. When the animal takes over, the only thing that will surround you is death. You must choose to feed. That is the only way to control it."
Draco glared at Erasmus. "What if I wish to die?"
Erasmus laughed. "Boy, there is no way that you can die, to be honest, I am not even sure what will kill me, and since I gave you my power, you are certainly immortal. Besides, in any case, a vampire cannot starve to death. Even if we would become bones, all it would take is one small drop of blood, and our bodies will begin to regenerate themselves. Believe me you do not want to come back into existence that way. I remember it well. It was the worst pain that I have ever experienced. Now, come inside. Allow your father to feed you, silly boy. I'm afraid that most of this is all my fault. Do not take it out on Severus. He truly thought that he was doing the best for you."
Draco sneered at Erasmus. "Really? His best was to let me be abused by my adoptive family?"
Erasmus sighed. "Draco, you may think that you have a death wish, but you bear nothing on Severus. He has tried everything, even a few things that were quite inventive. He felt that with the thirst, a vampire's life was no place for a child."
Draco looked at Erasmus expectantly. Erasmus looked pointedly at Draco and stared deeply into his eyes. "Besides, you should be happy for this. You will never die. You will have more power than you ever would have wished. What does it matter that Severus helped the Potter boy? You are no longer part of this war, Draco. You are not expected to be with that moldy excuse for a Dark Lord. The true Dark Wizards were all immortal. He is a scam, a fraud. True darkness knows that the world exists in a perfect balance. Where would we be if Voldemort wiped out muggles? We would loose our main food source."
Draco smiled after that. For once, he achieved something. Erasmus led him to see it. He was now more powerful than the Dark Lord. Draco looked at Erasmus. "Take me to my father."
Erasmus smiled. "Your every whim will be granted, Draco. Let him teach you. I promise you, you will not regret it."